Ranked No. 1 all season in B.C. senior AAA boys volleyball, nothing less than another Okanagan title would have been acceptable for the KSS Owls.
Mike ³§´Ç»å²¹°ù´ÇÏ㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥™s team »å¾±»å²ÔÏ㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥™t disappoint on Saturday at Mt. Boucherie Secondary, defeating the host Bears to capture their seventh consecutive valley championship.
Led by senior Spencer Doody, the Owls had a hiccup in the second set but were still too much for the Bears en route to a 3-1 win (25-16, 21-25, 25-19, 25-16.)
Ï㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥Àá³Ù was a good ±ð´Ú´Ú´Ç°ù³Ù,Ï㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥ said Sodaro, the Owls head coach. Ï㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥Ô¨´Ç³Ü wonder how the guys are going to respond after a two-week layoff, but they did well.
Ï㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥œT³ó±ð expectations as No.1 are tough, but I think the boys have handled it ·É±ð±ô±ô.Ï㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥
Both the Owls and Bears will represent the Okanagan at the , Nov. 30 to Dec. 3 at the Langley Events Centre.
KSS will be the top seed, while Boucherie is ranked sixth.
Despite coming up short in the valley final, Bears coach John McParland likes what his team has to offer heading to provincials.
Ï㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥œW±ð can certainly play at the level of KSS but we struggle to maintain that level for an entire ³¾²¹³Ù³¦³ó,Ï㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥ McParland said. Ï㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥œT³ó±ð team has been getting stronger and stronger as the season progressed and I have high expectations for them going into ±è°ù´Ç±¹¾±²Ô³¦¾±²¹±ô²õ.Ï㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥
The Owls have been so close in recent years at provincials, winning consecutive silver medals in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
It is no secret what KSS expects of itself in 2016.
Ï㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥œO³Ü°ù expectations never change, we want to win it ²¹±ô±ô,Ï㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥ said Sodaro. Ï㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥Àá³ÙÏ㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥™s a matter putting it all together at the right time.
"This team is right up there with the best teams ·É±ðÏ㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥™v±ð had. °Â±ðÏ㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥™r±ð deep, we have three or four guys that can come off the bench at any time and we »å´Ç²ÔÏ㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥™t miss a step. Anything can happen at provincials, but if we play our best we should be right there in the ±ð²Ô»å.Ï㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥
11 straight for KSS ²µ¾±°ù±ô²õÏ㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥¦
It »å¾±»å²ÔÏ㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥™t come easy, but the KSS Owls managed to make it 11 consecutive Okanagan 4A senior girls volleyball titles.
After dropping the first two sets of ³§²¹³Ù³Ü°ù»å²¹²âÏ㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥™s valley final to the Pen Hi Lakers, the Owls rallied back to win the last three sets, including a nail-biting 16-14 victory in the fifth.
Falling into a big hole early against Penticton, coach Tony Sodaro had to pull out all the stops in the comeback win.
Ï㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥Àá tried every line up ±è´Ç²õ²õ¾±²ú±ô±ð,Ï㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥ he said. Ï㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥Àá created a new one for the third, fourth and fifth sets.Ï㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥
With the win, the Owls, ranked sixth in the province, have booked a spot at the B.C. 4A girls championship, Dec. 1 to 3 at Handsworth Secondary in North Vancouver.
Despite being second at valleys, the Lakers now have to go through a wild card tournament qualifying process next week, for a chance to get to the B.C. championship.
Ï㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥Àá³ÙÏ㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥™s unfortunate that such a strong team (has to travel to a wildcard ³Ù´Ç³Ü°ù²Ô²¹³¾±ð²Ô³Ù),Ï㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥ Sodaro said of the valley not being granted two provincial berths. Ï㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥œG´Ç´Ç»å luck to the Pen Hi Lakers, who deserve to be in the provincials this ²â±ð²¹°ù.Ï㽶ÊÓƵֱ²¥